


Lord Wessex's Secret

by MrsChipRockefeller



Category: Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 20:37:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13442925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsChipRockefeller/pseuds/MrsChipRockefeller
Summary: Lord Wessex's reason for desperately needing to get married





	Lord Wessex's Secret

I was working on the plantation with my family when the master came along. He was so handsome with his brown curls and beard. He treated us all with respect even though we were black. It didn't matter to him whether we weren't white or not. He could see past our skin colour unlike his father, my previous master.

"Martha," he called.

"Yes sir," I answered looking up into his beautiful brown eyes.

"May we take a walk?"

"Of course sir."

We regularly talk walks where we could confide in each other. I knew people didn't like me going off and having this close friendship with our master but I didn't care. I wanted to be of service to my dear master and if he wished to unburden his mind onto me then so be it. People said I was crossing the line but he was the one who had always initiated our conversations.

When we were a safe distance away he took me into his arms again and kissed me. We were secretly lovers. I took his bearded face into mine and kissed him back with just as much passion.

"Martha, I can't handle all this sneaking around. Marry me?" he whispered.

"But Robert what about society? You're a lord. Won't they shun you out of society for marrying a black girl who is your slave?" I answered looking down ashamed. He couldn't marry me; I was black, even if I did love him.

He lifted up my head and looked into my eyes lovingly and determined. "I don't give a damn. I love you, Martha. No matter your skin colour. What does it all matter anyway? Aren't we all human and children of God?"

"Oh Robert, but you will be cast out. I can't bear that for you."

"Martha, I can't bear to be without you. I don't care for society. I only care for you. Marry me, Martha?"

I couldn't believe he was prepared to give it all up for me. I was so touched that he would give up all his privileges just to be with me. "Oh Robert, yes I will marry you," I answered. "I love you."

We then kissed again. "We'll marry in secret otherwise my father will cast me out and we will be penniless," he said. "If he knew he would try everything in his power to stop me. Regardless if you make me happy or not. I will not let him stop me from having the one person I love most in this world."

"Oh Robert," I smiled up at him for he was taller than me.

"I do give you leave to tell your father though."

"Thank you, Robert."

He kissed my hand and then we departed. I skipped along so happy to be engaged to Lord Wessex. The youngest Lord Wessex had decided to take a black girl as his Lady Wessex no matter the consequences.

I ran up to my father and hugged him.

"What has made you so happy?" he asked concerned.

"Father I am to be married," I smiled up at him.

"To whom?" He looked even more worried and concerned like I had done something wrong but all I had done was give into my heart.

"Lord Wessex, my dear, dear Robert." He looked furious and concerned at the same time. I frowned at my father's disapproval of my love.

"A white man? Our master? Don't you see he will destroy you?" He held me close to him. How could he misunderstand my Robert so badly? I knew he loved me. He was prepared to be an outcast for me.

"No, father, he loves me," I pleaded. "He's prepared to be shunned out of society for me. You know he's not like other white men. He respects us."

"Martha, I only fear for you. Whites and blacks aren't meant to mix. You will be both shut out of society."

"I don't care as long as I am with Robert. I love him, father, and I mean to have him."

"I see you are determined so have him but he will be your downfall."

I decided to miss that last comment and hugged him thanking him.

Robert and I were married secretly a week later after he'd managed to find someone who would marry us. It had been hard to find someone like-minded to us. It had been hard to find someone who would marry us despite our colour differences. I was quickly installed into the house as his wife and the mistress of the home though I was not accepted by his servants. As I ordered them about in my new position they believed I had forgotten who I was putting on airs and graces. Though it did upset me I didn't mind too much as at night I had my Robert and he was quite the attentive lover.

Within two years I was carrying our first child. Robert and I were both delighted to be having a child and hoped for a son to be his heir. We would both love and care for this child. Others weren't so happy we were to have a child. Some thought it was a disgrace.

His father finally graced us with a visit but it wasn't a happy occasion. When Robert saw him he took my hand. He wanted to soothe me and remind me he was here for me no matter what he loved me.

"This is my wife, Martha, father," he said.

"That's your wife?" his father spat while I looked uncomfortably at the floor.

"Yes, she's my wife and carrying my child," he answered defiantly.

"Robert, may we speak in private?" His eyes bore into his son who in turn looked to me for guidance. I nodded my head. I didn't want to cause any conflict within the family even if our marriage was controversial. We needed the family fortune for our child.

He went off with his father while I waited in the parlour in anxious anticipation. I started pacing the floor nervous about what would happen. Would we lose everything? Would he take him from me? I couldn't bear the suspense.

I was about to go down to the study to find out what was going on when Robert stormed in slamming the door and threw himself onto the armchair. I was a bit wary of approaching him in this mood. When he saw me he looked up at me sadly but beckoned me closer. He pulled me onto his lap and held me close.

"I'm not angry with you, Martha," he said stroking my hair.

"What happened, Robert? Where's your father?" I asked gently.

"Preparing to catch the next boat back to England." I looked down ashamed and sadly. He lifted my chin up and looked into my eyes saying, "It is not your fault, Martha."

He looked off in the distance and I felt there was still more he wasn't telling me as he was still tense. "Robert, there is more to tell me," I asked.

"Martha," he sighed. "I've been cut off. He has cut me off from the family fortune. Also society won't recognise our marriage."

I burst into tears at the isolation I had brought upon Robert for agreeing to marry him and carry his child. I had always been strong-willed and gone after what I wanted never mind the consequences now I had ruined the only man I had ever loved.

"I will not have you blaming yourself, my love," he comforted kissing my forehead. "You have made me very happy and all I need is you. I don't care what society has to say. Its society's fault if they can't see past the colour of your skin to the beautiful and kind person you are."

"Oh Robert...but how are we going to survive? We have a baby on the way and you have lost your money."

"We will survive, trust me."

I smiled at him but I couldn't see how. I trusted him anyhow.

Some months later I was having our baby while he was pacing outside our bedchamber. Men weren't supposed to witness the birth and he had been advised to stay outside as it would cause the midwife even more hassle. I screamed in agony as I pushed our child out and they tried to soothe me. The midwife was the midwife for all the slaves as no respectable midwife would deliver our baby. We were isolated but together and that was all that mattered.

Finally our child was out. I heard its cries then fell asleep exhausted from the exertion of having just given birth to our first child. When I awoke I found Robert sitting on the edge of the bed with our child wrapped in a blanket in his arms. He was gazing down lovingly at our baby.

"Robert," I said gently.

He looked over to me and smiled, "Martha."

"Did we have a son?"

"Yes, I have an heir." He handed him to me and a flood of motherly love washed over me. He had his father's hair and eyes while he had my nose and lips. He had a lighter brown skin colour due to his father being white.

"He's beautiful."

"I know. I will do all in my power for you and our son. I will not let you suffer for society's sake."

"I know, Robert, I trust you."

He tilted my head towards him and we kissed a slow and gentle kiss while being careful of our son and heir but what was he to inherit? We weren't very rich anymore since his father had cut him off and were trying our best to live off the plantation.

We named our son Robert Wessex II and tried to do our best for him. As he grew though we became poorer and poorer causing some conflict in our marriage. I began to get more and more depressed even though I loved my family as I had ruined my husband. He kept trying to tell me I hadn't and I made him happy but he soon got tired of our financial problems. I knew all he wanted was to give me and our son a good life.

When our son was five we decided drastic action had to be taken. We couldn't carry on living with all these debts piling up. We had to do something for our son. Our son deserved a better life than one of debts. The decision though would be a heartbreaking one for all of us. It was decided since our marriage wasn't recognised in society he would go back to England and find another wife. He had to marry again for money. We needed the money to bring our son out of poverty. We would sacrifice anything for little Robert even our hearts.

Robert caught a boat out a few months later leaving our son and me to try and keep the plantation going in his absence. Though he had taught me how to deal with business in his absence I was not looked up to or respected as he was. All through our marriage they had seen me as his mistress rather than his wife. Our son was seen as a bastard.

I struggled during his absence waiting to hear of a new wife. I missed him bitterly and waited to hear of any news that he may send me but being two continents apart it wasn't easy to receive some. I went down to meet every ship in the hope of a letter from my Robert. I waited months on end with no answer. Finally a beautiful lady came to the house.

"Is this the home of Lord Wessex?" she asked.

"Yes, but he is away from home at present in England," I answered.

"Oh good but I know he is away for I am his widow. Are you Martha?" she smiled producing a letter.

I eyed the letter with pleasure. Could it be news from my Robert? Could he be coming home at last? Would he be following her home?

She gave me the letter; I thanked her and opened it as quickly as I could then read it.

'My dearest Martha,

I am so sorry that you have waited months for a word from me. I did not know if I could trust any of the captains sailing to Virginia to hand this letter to you. I have found a wife to answer our prayers. Her name is Lady Viola de Lesseps well now Lady Viola Wessex I guess. Her father made his fortune through being a shopkeeper and she comes with a large dowry. The money may help pull us out of poverty and give little Robert the life he deserves. The absence from you has been torture to me and I can't wait to see your beautiful face. I should be arriving with Viola.

Your loving and devoted,

Robert.'

I then realised something was terribly wrong as he wasn't with her. Also had she described herself as his widow? It couldn't be, could it? He couldn't be, could he? My Robert couldn't be dead. He was all our son and I had in this world these last seven years.

I whispered, "Widow?"

She looked down and answered, "Yes, we were involved in a shipwreck with me being the sole survivor."

I fell to my knees and wept; my love was dead. He was my rock and had held me together while the world shunned us for our love. He was everything to me. She looked at me unsure what to do. My son upon hearing my tears ran to me but stopped when he saw his stepmother.

"Mother, what is it?" he asked concerned.

"Your father has drowned, Robert," I answered.

He looked at me distraught.

"Oh dear," she said. "This isn't as simple as it looks, is it?"

I tried to recover my tears to explain the situation. "Lady Viola, I am the wife society refuses to recognise. Robert and I were married for seven years but he was disowned due to my skin colour. We married for love and had our son two years later."

"I'm so sorry. I know what it is like to be unconventional. I had an affair with a married actor playwright. You see I didn't marry your husband for love either. I was ordered to marry him by the queen for my fortune," she comforted.

"I'm sorry that we needed your money. We tried so hard to raise our son out of poverty into a life he deserves due to his father's title. Look at him, doesn't he deserve more than poverty," I pleaded getting up and hugging my son closer to me.

"Its fine, I could not be with the man I loved due to his marriage. Your son I am sure is a fine young man and no-one deserves to be poor," she smiled.

"Thank you ever so much, your Ladyship."

She made me her companion and took Robert under her wing. We became great friends over the following months and she helped us over the loss of our husband. We were able to share secrets with each other and she shielded me from the bad comments made behind my back and the disapproval of our friendship.

Some months later as we were in her bedroom and I was brushing her hair she turned to me. "Martha," she said.

"Yes Viola," I answered.

"I plan to take you and Robert to London. I intend to plead Robert's case to his grandfather. He shouldn't lose out on a fortune that is rightfully his."

"Oh Viola, I do not want Robert to lose out but he won't accept him into the family."

"I believe it is worth the try. Do you not wish to see London?"

"I do," I smiled. I was worried about the long voyage though. It would take us some months to reach London and no-one I knew apart from Viola and my later Robert had ever done the journey. Would my son and I be up to it? Would we be healthy?

A few weeks later we set out on our voyage to England. It took months and wasn't always a pleasant experience. Though the ocean was beautiful to look out at with my son by my side sometimes the rocking of the ship against the waves would make me feel ill and I would have to lie down on my bed with my son by my side. Viola and I had been given different lodgings. She had a nice room near the captain while Robert and I had been put into the lower deck along with the servants of the other passengers on the same level as Viola. Viola had tried to save us from being put in here but it hadn't worked. They put me in here due to my colour.

Finally we reached London and were reunited with Viola. She escorted me through the streets of London while we were looked down upon. She escorted me in her carriage to the Wessex estate. When we arrived she got me out and we went inside to see our father-in-law. We were announced but he refused to see us when hearing our names at first. After refusing to leave he had us ushered into his study.

He scowled when he saw me and my son. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Viola responded for me, "We are here to try and make sure Robert doesn't lose out on a fortune that is rightfully his."

"Why would a bastard rightfully have a claim to the Wessex fortune?"

"We were married in Virginia. Our son was born two years after our marriage. It was not my or Robert's fault that society chose not to recognise our love and marriage. Doesn't he look like his father?"

"I don't see any resemblance to his father and his father is dead. Leave me to my grief and don't come back. That includes you Lady Viola."

She escorted me out of the estate but told me not to worry as she would try and get her parents to help. I didn't have much hope but I agreed with Viola it was worth a try.

Sadly they refused to help because of my appearance and even disowned Viola for associating with me after she refused to break this friendship. We were cast out into the city of London to fend ourselves. We ended up going our separate ways due to fate. She managed to find a position as a governess but no-one would hire an unmarried black woman with a child. I ended up having to resort to prostitution and travelling from city to city just to put food on the table for the both of us.

Two and a half years later we met again and she gave me some money and informed me she was to be married. The money helped for a while but I fell back into prostitution just to try and feed my son and give him shelter. I felt so ashamed of our new life. How I missed my dear late husband? How I missed Virginia too but I did not have enough money to get us a safe passage back to America?

Three years later I had made it back to Portsmouth and planned to stow onto a ship. We hid in a local pub listening to gossip while I decided which ship to stow away on. Suddenly I heard someone narrating a story about a pirate that had docked in the harbour for the night. Apparently he had once been a gentleman but had married a black slave for love so was disowned and had a child with her. He'd married again when the son was 5 for money but had been involved in a shipwreck on his way to Virginia. A bunch of pirates had saved him and made him work for them but a few years later he led a mutiny and became the new captain of the ship.

This sounded so much like Robert's story but could it be true he was actually alive and had survived the shipwreck as Viola had? Could my Robert still be alive as this pirate? There was only one way to tell if my love was still alive and that was to stow away on his ship.

"Robert," I whispered.

"Yes mother," he whispered back.

"We must stow away on the pirate ship."

"But won't that be dangerous."

"Not if I think is true is true."

"What mama?"

I didn't answer him but tried to formulate a plan to get on the ship. I decided we would have to creep on deck at night while everyone was asleep and hide till we were sure of our safety. We crept on deck and hid behind some of the barrels on the ship and fell asleep till morning. Unfortunately in the morning my son accidentally kicked the barrel and we heard voices.

"What was that?" one said.

"It seemed to be coming from behind those barrels," another answered.

I hugged my eleven year old son close to me scared of what they would do to us when they found us. I couldn't go back to prostitution but I would do anything to protect my son. My son held me close to him just as frightened.

Finally they found me hugging my son close to me.

"Ooh, look who's here," one of the men said.

They grabbed us and started to mock me and muck me around until the captain's door opened. A man with a full head of brown curls bowed out of the door then looked up at the commotion. I recognised those eyes instantly and my heart beat a hundred to a dozen. It was my Robert! He was alive!

Tears filled my eyes and I flung myself at him hugging him close to me. "Robert," I exclaimed.

He patted my hair while everyone laughed then told them to let us go.

"To walk the plank, captain?" they laughed.

"Is that how you would respect my wife and child?" he responded smiling lovingly at me.

They looked stunned and he smiled at me then took me into his cabin.

"Where have you been, my love?" he asked gently.

"Viola told me you were dead so after months of mourning we set sail for London to try and recover some of the Wessex fortune for Robert. Naturally he turned us away and I ended up in prostitution," I cried. He looked horrified and I took his hands and pleaded, "Please Robert I was led to believe you were dead and nowhere else was going to take an unmarried black woman with a child. I had to get money somehow to feed Robert and myself."

He rubbed my hands with his thumbs and answered, "My dear, I am so sorry for your suffering. Viola was right to believe I'd drowned as I was drowning and had drifted off some distance when a gang of pirates found me. I was pressed into joining their gang in exchange for my life. When I realised there was quite a good amount of money to be raised out of piracy I persuaded the crew to help me mutiny our captain. When I was made captain I sailed the high seas in search of my wife and son."

"Oh Robert," I smiled at him slightly with tears in my eyes thinking of all the lost years we'd had.

"Martha, we have a future now. You, me and little Robert. I know it's a life of piracy but we can be free to love at last."

I smiled slightly at him.

We settled into life aboard ship and they treated our son and me with the utmost respect. Robert was even more of the lover than he had been before and we soon welcomed Viola, Arthur, Elizabeth and Samuel into the world. He was a good father as well as a great captain to his crew.


End file.
